Family planning, abortion and welfare reform.(welfare reform needs family planning provisions)

Adolescent pregnancy, out-of-wedlock childbearing and a growing number of single-parent families are among the serious social problems currently facing this country. These phenomena are not exclusive to the poor, but their negative consequences affect the poor disproportionately and more visibly. As a result, the poor are frequently blamed and resented for these problems, largely because of the welfare costs associated with them. This is so despite public policies that often undermine their ability to act "responsibly."

The difficulties the poor encounter in obtaining the means to control their childbearing are a critical case in point. The ability to make ...